Five quick takes: Worrisome defense not a good sign with playoffs approaching

All season long, Gregg Popovich has preached that his defense hasn’t come close to playing at his expected levels.

Back when the Spurs were winning championships, the defense was the major reason. The Spurs simply suffocated opposing teams.

The Spurs have had some moments this season, but their defense has taken a big step back despite an NBA-best record 54-13 record.

And it bottomed out during a two-play sequence that ranked as one of the most embarrassing sequences in recent memory in their 110-80 loss to Miami Monday night.

Dwyane Wade found LeBron James for an emphatic dunk with 10:14 remaining and his joyous shout was detected on ESPN’s game broadcast.

But it got worse.

After stealing the ball from Steve Novak, Wade was even louder when he punctuated the turnover with a tomahawk jam.

It’s a kind of highlight that will resonate on the sports channels for the next several days as an indicator that the Heat are approaching the level predicted when the “Big Three” came together. And it will also prompt some questions from the national media about how good the Spurs really are despite their strong start.

The Spurs will have three days to stew about this defeat before a huge game against Dallas that will represent their biggest game of the season to this point. If San Antonio can win, it will just about clinch the WesternConference title. But if they lose, it will prompt a lot of questions heading into the last four weeks of the season.

Here are four other quick takes from a resounding loss that had the statisticians poring over the record books in the fourth quarter as they looked for the worst losses in the Spurs’ recent history.

1. It’s not a good combination when the Spurs aren’t hitting their 3-point shots and aren’t getting to the foul line. Both were the case as the Spurs clanked through a 6-for-22 shooting night with only 19 trips to the foul line. San Antonio missed its first five shots from behind the arc as they fell into an early hole in the first half. They didn’t get to the line until Tim Duncan got two foul shots with 2:17 left. And they never could come back.

2. The San Antonio bench has provided a lift all season, providing a lift almost every time it was called upon. But it wasn’t the case Monday night, as the San Antonio subs struggled. Gary Neal had his worst shooting effort of the season at 2-for-13 and was minus-11. And George Hill never found his mark in a 1-for-6 shooting night and a plus-minus of minus-30 that was his worst of the season. The Spurs’ guards have given them a remarkable boost this season. For one of the few times all year, both had miserable games at the same time. Their struggles were typified by a two-play sequence midway through the third quarter when the Spurs picked up back-to-back shot-clock violations for the first time this season.

3. After comparing the Heat team in San Antonio to the one that has beaten the Lakers, Memphis and the Spurs in the last five nights, it’s clear that Wade has taken over his team. James and Chris Bosh had their moments, but Wade was the biggest reason the Heat beat the Spurs Monday night. He had a performance that was reminiscent of the way that Michael Jordan used to take over games with 29 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Most importantly, he has helped the team develop a tough-minded defensive purpose that has limited opponents to 39.2 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from 3-point territory and 84.3 points in their last three games.

4. There was a reason why Matt Bonner remained on the bench during the second half while Popovich implored the rest of his teammates to “bust their a–” in the second half in a good workout. Popovich was extremely disappointed in a couple of defensive lapses by Bonner late in the second quarter. Because of that, Bonner was the only Spur who didn’t see action in the second half.